A Footless Viking, A Jester & A Hunchback
by HTTYD Frozen Forever
Summary: Name sounds like the start of a bad joke. I know. Anyway. Hiccup and Astrid end up in Paris. With Hiccup immobilized, they must depend on new friends to find their way back home and Save the Day from Dagur. (set during "Race to the edge" so Hiccup doesn't have his flight suit yet)


Hiccup and Astrid ran down the winding streets of the mysterious city they had been brought to by Dagur. They had escaped, but now were running as he chased them down, accompanied by an army made up of his own men and what appeared to be masked guards of some type.

As they slowed by the side of a large house, Hiccup took Astrid by the palm and pulled out the Dragon Eye.

"Take it!" Hiccup told her.

"What!?" Astrid was shocked, "Why!?"

"They're after me." He replied, "If they catch me, they'll get the dragon eye and won't bother with you. Please. If I can trick them, you can get it to safety."

"Fine," Astrid packed the Dragon Eye in her satchel, "Now let's... "

Astrid didn't finish her sentence as the men chasing them rounded the corners. As her eyes adjusted, she saw the catapults, but it was too late as they struck the foundation of the building beside them.

"Run!" she shouted.

However, as Hiccup turned to run, one of the men fired an arrow at him. The arrow ripped through his right shoulder pad, causing him to cry in pain and collapse.

"Hiccup!" Astrid cried as the house toppled over on her 19 year-old boyfriend and ran over to the debris. It had crushed Hiccup, but it had also blocked the berserkers from getting to them and she prayed it would hold them back.

She finally found Hiccup, unconscious, scratched up, bloodied, but breathing and pulled him out of the remains of the house. She twisted the arrow shaft and pulled clean out, causing him to yelp in pain.

"I'm sorry," she whispered and removed the shoulder pad to see his red tunic stained an even darker red, "We have to get you somewhere safe."

"Just... Leave me..." Hiccup grunted as he tried to sit up a bit more.

"No! I won't!" Astrid looked around, spotting some cloth, which she used to quickly wrap up the arrow wound and stood Hiccup up, letting him lean on her for support as she carried him farther down the street.

Soon, the sounds of the men digging through the destroyed house grew quieter and quieter until it was barely audible. Astrid knew Hiccup needed help soon. His side was bleeding, but fortunately wasn't leaving a trail thanks to his leather tank top that went overtop his red tunic. He also couldn't walk on his right leg and his right arm was, to say the least, mangled.

"Just a bit further, Hiccup," Astrid said as he grunted once more, "We're almost..."

"Stůj!" cried a voice from the shadows and within seconds, a man, about 30 years of age, ran out, the mask of a jester hiding his face as well as a large purple hat and held a knife out at them, only to withdraw it in curiosity at the two. He dropped act when he noticed the fact that Hiccup was injured and instead went to look at the main street before returning to their side and taking Hiccup from Astrid, releasing her of the scrawny, albeit still heavy, body and gave her a smile to represent that he wanted to help. Astrid weakly smiled in return and let him lead the way down the alley.

"Um, the man spoke, "Mluvíte česky?"

Astrid didn't understand what he said.

"Parlez-vous Français?"

Astrid did understand that. That meant "Can you speak French?" He was trying to ask her what she spoke.

"No," she replied, "I speak Norse (replaced with English for obvious reasons)."

"Norse." The man replied in a strong accent from an a unknown place and a smile spread on his face, "I always knew I was right to learn it."

"So, now we can speak to each other," she replied.

"Not quite," the man hushed her as he moved a carved slab of stone to reveal a doorway, "Quickly! In!"

Astrid took Hiccup from the Man's grip and went into the doorway, followed by the man, who pulled the slab back in place and lock it in place.

"You can lie him on the bed," the man lit a candle, illuminating the decently sized living space, including some benches, a table, some counters with trays and a corner dedicated to a drying rack coated with jester and simpleton clothing as well as closed chests and a large, comfortable bed.

Astrid did as she was told and laid Hiccup out on the bed, making sure he was comfortable and gingerly removed his shoulder pads and leather tanktop to better examine his wounds.

She quickly cleaned his bleeding side and wrapped bandages tightly around it. She moved to his shoulder and unwrapped it to clean it and rewrapped it. She left his red tunic on.

The man then came over and helped her to splint and wrap Hiccup's broken arm and leg. He even grabbed some old, but durable fabric that he used to sling Hiccup's broken arm. Finally, he dabbed some minor scratches with disinfectant, and applied some medicine as well as wrapping some gauze around Hiccup's forehead to help ease with the pain.

"You alright?" Astrid sat by his side and helped him to comfortably lie down.

"I'm... Fine," Hiccup smiled at her cautiousness, "I've been... through worse, my darling."

Astrid rolled her eyes.

"Darling?" She chuckled.

"What?" Hiccup chuckled at her reaction. "You said last week you wanted me to call you something other than "milady." I'm just doing as you request."

"Oh, you're such a goofball," She kissed him and he returned it more than happily.

"Well, isn't that cute," the man smiled at them.

Astrid stood and hugged the man gratefully.

"You saved our lives," she smiled at him, "How can we ever repay you?"

"I accept no rewards for saving a life," the man replied, "but perhaps an introduction is in order."

"I'm Astrid," Astrid introduced herself.

"My name is Hiccup," Hiccup weakly sat up and shook the man's hand with his good one.

"Well, Astrid and Hiccup," the man smiled at them and removed his mask and hat to show more of his features. His nose was rather prominent and his skin was a tan colour, features easily hidden by the shadows of the mask, and his hair was grown out to his shoulders, though the top of his head was somewhat balding or combed back. His eyes were full of joy and interest and he sported a black goatee on his chin, "I am Clopin Trouillefou and welcome to Paris."


End file.
